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Bochys weather tough inning together

The Giants manager summoned his son, Brett, in the eighth inning of a Cactus League exhibition against the Chicago White Sox, who had the bases loaded with one out, two runs already in and San Francisco leading, 9-4.

"Ideally, you'd like to start with a clean inning," the elder Bochy said.

Brett Bochy had no margin for error. But perfection eluded him, which is understandable for a non-roster player making his first appearance of the spring. Josh Bell hit a ground-rule double before Seth Loman clobbered a three-run homer on Bochy's next pitch to even the score and complete Chicago's seven-run rally. The Giants, who led 9-0 as late as the fifth inning, settled for a 9-9 tie.

Both Bochys seemed to accept the sudden White Sox surge as one of those things that tend to happen in Spring Training, when players are still trying to regain their form. Sequences such as Monday's rarely happened last year to Brett Bochy, who finished 7-3 with a 2.53 ERA and 14 saves at Double-A Richmond.

"Sure you're nervous for him, probably because of being a dad," said Bruce Bochy, who used his son as a reliever in a mid-March exhibition last year against Milwaukee. "But it's Spring Training and guys are getting ready. I put him in a tough spot, but he's a tough kid and he'll be fine."

Brett Bochy agreed that he inherited a precarious situation. "But you have to be ready for that in the role I'm in," he said.

The fact that his dad handed him the ball wasn't lost on Brett Bochy.

"Being the first time, I noticed it," he said. "But once I got out there and toed the rubber, it's like any other game."

To Brett Bochy's credit, he finished the inning by retiring two White Sox hitters while preserving the tie.

"He did a good job of regrouping and settling down," Bruce Bochy said.